OKLAHOMA CITY – Authorities say an 8-month-old little girl is dead, and her mother’s boyfriend is behind bars in connection with her murder.
On Sunday afternoon, officers were called to a home in the 5000 block of Crosby Dr. to check on the welfare of a child.
When police arrived at the home, they realized 8-month-old Amelia Tuell was critically injured.
“They stole her life,” said Amelia’s family. “She didn’t deserve this. No child deserves this.”
22-year-old Michael Bradley, the mother’s boyfriend, was watching the baby girl on Sunday while her mother was away.
When she came back, the family says Amelia had trauma to her head, spine fractures, liver lacerations and an injured pancreas. The family is shocked.
“We’re trying to find answers because it doesn’t make sense,” said Amelia’s family.
That’s all Amelia’s grandmother and aunt want after Amelia was rushed to the hospital Sunday afternoon.
The family drove from Arkansas to be with Amelia at the hospital before she died Monday afternoon.
“I feel empty and numb,” said Amelia’s family. “Angry.”
Amelia’s grandmother says her son, the father of the child, was best friends with the mother’s boyfriend in high school until the mother and Bradley took Amelia to Oklahoma in March.
The grandmother says her son is devastated.
“That was his whole world,” said Amelia’s family. “That was his reason for breathing. That was his heartbeat.”
The family now hopes to be a voice for Amelia and hope anyone who saw something in the neighborhood will call police.
“She’s my heart,” said Amelia’s family. “I feel like my heart is gone. We really hope that justice is served for her. She deserves that. Think of it as, would you want someone doing that to your grandbaby or your child, your niece or nephew. Anybody.”
Bradley was arrested on a complaint of child abuse and was taken to the Oklahoma County Jail.
Following Amelia’s death, that charge has been amended to first-degree murder.
The family has a gofundme page set up for Amelia’s funeral.
